Tarun Karthick
Sri Vijaya Puram, 05 October 2024
The Department of Official Language, Andaman and Nicobar Administration, celebrated the culmination of Hindi Fortnight-2024 with a grand prize distribution ceremony on 4th October 2024 at the Tagore Government College of Education Auditorium, Sri Vijaya Puram. The event was graced by Dr. Anil Agarwal, Secretary (Official Language), Andaman and Nicobar Administration, as the chief guest. Mr. Birendra Chaudhary, IFS, Deputy Conservator of Forests (Working Plan Division), Department of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, and Ms. Manjulata Rao, Principal of TGCE, were the guests of honour.
In his address, Dr. Anil Agarwal emphasised the significance of Hindi in the official workings of the Islands. He reminded the audience that the Andaman and Nicobar Islands fall under ‘A’ Region according to the Government of India, mandating that 100% of government work be conducted in Hindi. He urged all government employees to not only comply with this mandate but also to voluntarily adopt Hindi in their daily work. Dr. Agarwal also stressed the importance of staying updated with new technologies and incorporating them into official functions for more efficient governance.
Echoing this sentiment, Mr. Birendra Chaudhary highlighted that while Hindi is already being used in official work across the Islands, there is room for improvement in achieving full compliance. “Since Hindi is the common language of communication here, we must strive to complete 100% of our work in Hindi,” he said, appealing to all officers and staff to contribute their best towards this goal.
Earlier, Deputy Secretary (Official Language), Mr. Rajendra Indawar, welcomed the gathering and presented a detailed report on the activities organised during Hindi Pakhwada-2024. The fortnight-long event saw enthusiastic participation from government employees, students, and the general public in various competitions promoting the use of Hindi in official and non-official spheres.
As part of the ceremony, Dr. Agarwal, Mr. Chaudhary, and Ms. Rao distributed prizes to the winners of these competitions. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Mr. E.P. Zakiruddin, Senior Translation Officer, Official Language Department. Besides government officers and employees, students, teachers, and parents also attended the programme, underscoring the widespread support for promoting Hindi in the Islands.
Hindi Fortnight, or Hindi Pakhwada, is an annual initiative aimed at fostering the use of Hindi as the official language in administrative work and encouraging the general public to embrace the language in their daily lives.